New data from the the International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) and Beverage Marketing Corporation (BMC) show that in 2015 Americans’ consumption of bottled water increased by 7.9 percent and bottled water sales are up 8.9 percent since the previous year. In fact, BMC now indicates that bottled water is poised to overtake carbonated soft drinks as America’s largest beverage category by volume by 2017, if not by the end of 2016.

The bottled water industry continues to respond to the ongoing water crisis in Flint, Michigan. This is a terrible situation that highlights the important and historic role that bottled water plays during emergencies and natural disasters.